Salman Rushdies The Jaguar Smile Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Salman Rushdies The Jaguar Smile - Essay Example The historical narrative also highlighted several political behaviors. The most important of this is that its political culture is constantly being remade and is largely induced or influenced by external forces. This was demonstrated in the way the United has directed the Nicaraguan politics through the Somozas and how it caused the economic collapse of the country by imposing a trade embargo afterwards as a way to pressure and impact policy. This kind of intervention has already happened previously. Neighboring countries such as Mexico and even Britain have intervened in differing periods in the past. This has led to a kind of political culture in the country today that is characterized by an inherent desire to repel foreign enemies. The political success of the Sandinistas is the most glaring example of this phenomenon. Two-thirds of the electorate voted the Sandinistas to power in 1984, demonstrating the public displeasure for the US-armed Somoza, putting an end to years of Americ an intervention (Kenworthy 66). This behavior is also depicted in the strong desire to prevail or, at least, survive in the chaotic Central American politics. By Rushdie’s accounts and criticisms of the different Nicaraguan regimes, it became clear that the leader who held power tend to become autocratic and totalitarian. Even the Sandinistas themselves who wanted to be free from the previous repressive government eventually started muzzling the press. Censorship became such an important issue that Rushdie, himself, could not turn a blind eye although he still refused to call it despotic or comparable to the previous dictatorial government. This variable appears to highlight the distinctive... In order to understand the themes of the essays in the Jaguar Smile, it is important to reflect on the background of the Nicaraguan history during the Sandinistas' rise to power. The Jaguar Smile was published in 1987 after Salman Rushdie was invited by the Sandinistas in Nicaragua. It chronicled a period of the country's political history at the height of the Sandinista political movement. The narrative is the result of Rushdie's three-week long sojourn in Nicaragua. It provided enough materials for the author to document the Sandinistas' path to power. Essentially, the book used this subject as the landscape for his themes. In the process, he was able to provide a valuable account on a period in Central American history that has been characterized by a nation-building that typifies most of the Latin American experiences in addition to the American neo-colonialism. Fundamentally, it is a story of the underdog, rising to defeat stronger foes: the Anastazio Somoza Debayle dictatorship and, later, the US, through the Honduran Contra forces. In addition, the discourse of resistance in The Jaguar Smile has revealed several important insights about the political behavior of the players in the narrative. The implication of this point is that The Jaguar Smile is influential as a political text. It formed part of the long list of work concerning colonialism and nationalism. It revealed to the world how neocolonialism could stunt nation-building and breed a political culture that can eventually work against the hegemon.

Economic of Beekeeping Essay Example for Free

Economic of Beekeeping Essay As we know wax comb forms the environment in which the honeybee colony exists. The cells in the comb are used to rear brood, workers, drones and queens and also to store honey and pollen. The configuration of the wax combs provides insulation and channels the ventilation within the hive. To produce this fixed asset the honeybees must convert some of their liquid assets. The weight of wax within a BS deep brood frame is approximately 150g and therefore in the eleven frames making up a full national brood box there are 1650g of wax. The rate of exchange of honey to wax is 6. 25:1 [1]. In other words 6. 25 kg of honey is required to produce 1kg of wax. Therefore it can be seen that the wax within a brood box is equivalent to 10. 3 kg of honey. Feral honeybees, where possible, use new wax comb to rear brood and then reuse the wax comb to store pollen and honey. The practice of framed comb beekeeping has led to brood comb being repeatedly used to rear brood, cells being recycled six or seven times a year and then used similarly over many years. This is in contrast to the traditional beekeeping in skeps and the Warre hive beekeeping which have, as a fundamental feature, the annual regeneration of new comb for brood rearing. Evolution ensures that natural systems are energy efficient, so we might ask why bees in a natural environment do not so readily reuse brood comb. Brood combs can become reservoirs for pathogens and it appears that honeybees have evolved with behaviour patterns that recognise that the cost of new comb is less than the cost of disease. This could explain why EFB and AFB only became apparent as problems with the introduction of framed comb beekeeping.

New Orleans Jazz Band: Dag :: essays research papers

New Orleans Jazz Band: Dag "They have a word down South to describe the way you feel when your packed into a crowded dive at 1:00 AM, where the cigarette smoke is so thick it makes its own weather; and the waitress is slinging bourbon and Fritos while some bad-ass Jazz Funk band rocks the house as hard as Blue Ridge granite, and the sweat flows down from the stage like the cloudy waters of Pamlico Sound. There's a word for how you feel when you hear live Jazzy-funk music so sweet and hot, you just gotta shout something. The word is: DAG!" - Columbia Records There is only one place on earth where I though I could go to experience the true meaning of Jazz and to try to place myself in the shoes of all of the artists I have studied over the past semester. New Orleans, Louisiana is just that place. On April 10, 1996, I boarded a United Airlines plane bound, non- stop, for the "Home of Jazz." My goal in New Orleans was to try and have a comparable experience to that of one of the popular Jazz artists would have had upon his/her first visit to New Orleans in the early 1900s. Bourbon Street, the French Quarter, Jimmy Buffet's Maragaritaville, The Flamingo, the Garden District, and Moolate's all helped me to get into the proper frame of mind of experiencing true Jazz. The focus of this report will be on my life changing experience at a little place known as The House of Blues. This amazing combination of bar and stage created one of the most conducive atmospheres to music listening that I have ever been involved with. The stage, similar to the Fox, in Boulder and the bar/restaurant, similar to nothing both had a character and charm unique to itself. The ceilings in the bar area were covered by sculpted silhouettes of every major Jazz/Blues artist that ever played there. Images such as Louis Armstrong, Lester Young, Dizzie Gillespie, Buddy Bolden, Horace Silvers, and Jelly Roll Morton adorned the walls and ceilings of the HOB (House of Blues). Every beer on tap was a Louisiana original and the only kind of cooking done there was absolutely Cajun. On Thursday, April 11, 1996, I and 5 friends ventured into the legendary house of Blues. Headlining was a band entitled "Dag." This up and coming Blues/Jazz/Rock band has been touted as New Orleans newest small success story. With a label on Columbia Records and an album entitled Righteous, Dag is certainly a force in the Jazz industry.

Creating a Healthy City Essay

What Would a Healthy City Look Like A healthy city would be filled with clean air and a safe and high quality environment, with all basic needs such as water, food, and shelter for all residents. There would be ample education supplied for everyone, and in turn diverse employment opportunities so that more residents will have jobs. A healthy city would have plenty of recreational areas for its residents, and a public transportation system that would help residents travel safely between home and work. There would also be a superior level of appropriate public health care services and accessibility. (Hilgenkamp 364). Like a truly healthy human body, a truly healthy community is one in which all systems function as they should, and work together to make the community function well. Obstacles to Becoming a Healthy City One of the biggest challenges in creating a healthy community coalition is to sustain the members’ involvement in the process. This challenge can be overcome in part by agreeing as early as possible on a vision for the community. Although a Healthy Cities/Healthy Communities initiative should not be top-down, it needs the commitment and backing of those with the power to make things happen. Officials can use the media to publicize the effort, pass laws and regulations (and enforce those already existing) that reinforce it, and throw the weight and resources of government behind it. Without official support, a community-wide effort is more likely to fail. Financial Issues in Creating a Health City The ultimate goal here is the development of a truly healthy community, which translates to improving the quality of life for everyone in the community. This is not done without cost. Improving existing and building new parks can be very costly. Another high cost to a healthy community is the medical  treatment of the sick without insurance. This can be a high tax burden on the citizens, which can depreciate the health value of the community. Revamping a city’s infrastructure, such as wastewater treatment and water supply can be another costly expenditure in becoming a clean city. Benefits of a Healthy City Creating and sustaining a good healthy city has many benefits. A solid healty community provides: †¢Shelter adequate to the climate, to the needs of the occupants, and to withstand extremes of weather. †¢Education for children (and often adults as well, as in the case of adult literacy) that is free, adequate to equip them for a productive and comfortable life in their society. †¢Not just food, but enough of it, and of adequate nutritional value, to assure continued health and vigor for adults, and proper development for children. †¢A stable ecosystem. Clean air, clean water, and protection of the natural environment. †¢Sustainable resources that include water, farmland, minerals, industrial resources, power sources (sun, wind, water, biomass), plants, animals. †¢Employment that provides an income adequate for a reasonable quality of life, and public support for those who are unable to work or find jobs. What is Environmental Health In order to define and completely understand environmental health, we should first break each of its components down and define them. The World Health Organization defines health as â€Å"a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.† The environment is defined as â€Å"All conditions, circumstances, and influences surrounding and affecting the development or existence of people or other living things.† (Hilgenkamp 1) Environmental health in turn is essentially how we can prevent disease and create a health-supportive environment along with its related systems. Environmental health is the understanding of how we can sustain life on the planet for all future generations to come. Healthy City’s Importance to Environmental Health The WHO defines the Healthy City as â€Å"one that is continually creating and improving those physical and social environments and expanding those community resources which enable people to mutually support each other in  performing all the functions of life and in developing to their maximum potential.† A healthy city is not about the health sector only. It includes health considerations in economic, regeneration and urban development efforts. Its primary goal is to put health high on the social, economic and political agenda of city governments. (WHO Europe) Environmental Health as a Global Concern Earth is one giant system, with four main divisions which are the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere. Hilgenkamp addressed several key reasons for environmental health being a global issue. The first issue was the world population increase. It was noted that from 1950 to 1975, the world population increased by 64%. Increasing population growth means an increased need for food and waste disposal. In order to accommodate this increase, additional land must be cleared, thus taking away additional natural resources needed to maintain oxygen and water supplies in the environment. (Hilgenkamp 25) As population increases worldwide, so do the demands for energy. This increase in energy need increase the consumption of natural resources such as coal, oil, and uranium, that in turn endanger our water supplies. It also increase the amount of power plants needed, which increases the amount of air pollution, and in turn causes increases in atmospheric temperature known as global warming. In addition to the changes in climate, global warming also increase human illness because of the rise of new diseases and the reemergence of old ones. (Hilgenkamp 27) Environmental Health as an Individual Concern Since the environment provides us with so many resources such as clean air, clean water, and nutrients, environmental degradation directly influences human health. Because humans dominate most ecosystems on Earth we have a large impact on the environment, it is therefore a responsibility of each human to do their part to maintain environmental health. Overpopulation and demands on natural resources can degrade the environment. There are ways that each of us can facilitate the preservation of the environment and conservation of its resources, such as recycling products when possible, use pollution control devices, practice new farming techniques that reduce agricultural pollution, as well as adhere to laws put in place to protect us  such as the Endangered Species Act, Clean Air Act, and Clean Water Act. References Hilgenkamp, Kathryn. Environmental Health: Ecological Perspectives. Jones & Bartlett Learning, 09/09/2005. VitalBook file. Preamble to the Constitution of the World Health Organization as adopted by the International Health Conference, New York, 19-22 June, 1946; signed on 22 July 1946 by the representatives of 61 States (Official Records of the World Health Organization, no. 2, p. 100) and entered into force on 7 April 1948. WHO Europe. Healthy Cities. Retrieved 6/10/2014 From http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/environment-and-health/urban-health/activities/healthy-cities

Epic of Gilgamesh Essay

The Epic of Gilgamesh serves as a great looking glass into a long lost culture in which most artifacts are lost. The story centers on Gilgamesh, a ruthless king who is two thirds god and one third man. As king, he does not meet his potentials of leadership as he is often self-centered and sometimes depicted as inhumane. When his dear friend Enkidu dies, he sets off to find immortality. He eventually fails, but during his journey, he came to terms with his mortality and became a more compassionate person. Even though the main characters are men, the women play small but vital roles along his journey. The women in this epic reveal that they are solely responsible for the civilization of Gilgamesh and Enkidu by means of dream interpretation, sex, and motherly instincts, because the men of this epic do not have the ability to do them on their own. As king, Gilgamesh does things of his own accord and with his own judgment. He terrifies his city with his ruthless behavior, and even upsets the gods. He takes away sons from families, and has his way with newly wedded brides on their honeymoon before the grooms. As Gilgamesh sees women as merely sex objects, it’s difficult to imagine that when he needs direction he goes to his mother, Ninsun â€Å"who is well-beloved and wise (page 66). † It is interesting to see that Gilgamesh sees every other woman as a sex object, except his mother. Some theories to support this impression could be that she is different, because she is a goddess. She, unlike, other women, is a divinity. Or perhaps it could simply be the fact that having his way with his mother is a bizarre concept and also a practice of incest. Gilgamesh has these dreams that he always takes very seriously as he sees them as messages. He consults only his mother to interpret these dreams for him. He explains to her his dream where a meteor fell and he couldn’t lift it. He confesses that â€Å"it’s attraction was like the love of a woman. They helped me, I braced my forehead and I raised it with thongs and brought it to you, and you yourself pronounced it my brother (page 66). † He told his other dream where, â€Å"in the streets of strong-walled Uruk there lay an axe; the shape of it was strange and the people thronged round. I saw it and was glad. I bent down, deeply drawn towards it; I loved it like a woman and wore it at my side (page 67). The reason for his confusion can stem from the fact that Gilgamesh loves the meteor and the axe like a woman, but they are both sex objects he does not understand. With his dreams revolving around the idea of love and femininity, this could be another reason why Gilgamesh seeks out a woman to interpret the dreams. Ninsun then interprets the dreams for him, saying that it foretells a friend coming. She tells Gilgamesh that he will, â€Å"love him as a woman and he will never forsake you. This is the meaning of the dream (page 66). † She is the one responsible for informing Gilgamesh on Enkidu’s arrival. This form of vital information from his mother is a way for her to civilize him. It distracts him from tormenting the city as he listens to the messages given to him. His mother promises something new that somewhat challenges his manhood unlike his current activities that seem very one-sided and in his favor. He now has something new to look forward to that could possibly defy him and concentrates on that. Another example of how women in this epic are sources of civilization is revealed in the chapter, â€Å"The Coming of Enkidu. † Enkidu was created by the gods to be an equal of Gilgamesh. Born wild and uncivilized, he was hairy and lived with the animals. After an encounter with a shepherd, a harlot from the â€Å"temple of love† was brought to civilize Enkidu. The shepherd told the harlot,† teach him, the savage man, your womanly ways, for when he murmurs love to you the wild beasts that shared his life in the hill will reject him (page 64). † After teaching him for six days and seven nights of her womanly art, Enkidu was indeed rejected from his animal friends â€Å"for wisdom was in him, and the thoughts of a man were in his heart (page 65). Feeling alone and unwanted, Enkidu returned to the harlot and allowed her to take him to the enlightened world. On the way, she clothed him, fed him, had him drink wine and treated him more as a child than a lover. This example illustrates one way that women were able to civilize men in this epic. The reason Enkidu returned to the harlot was simply because he liked her. The experience she gave to him was a positive one, one that was receptive and pleasurable. Enkidu returns to her in the hopes that she will give him more instruction and because she is the only person that will talk to him. This is a new relationship to him because it is already predicated to this woman taking charge and teaching him new ideas, customs, and how to live life as a real man. This shows that a woman’s sensuality and sexual appeal had a great power over men. Sex in this story is considered a sacred act. This act that went on for seven nights seemed to drain Enkidu of his wildness, leaving a civilized man. The positive experience that was given and the kindness of the harlot encouraged Enkidu to return as a civilized man and allow himself so be somewhat submissive to her. With the death of Enkidu, Gilgamesh wants to find a way to immortality. Looking for a way to escape death, he finds Utnapishtim, an immortal man. Utnapishtim informs him that he must do something worthy to gain immortality like he did himself. After Gilgamesh fails his challenge miserably, Utnapishtim’s wife implores her husband to give Gilgamesh something for his troubles. We could infer here that she may have felt motherly instincts for Gilgamesh after seeing him in despair. It isn’t easy to find Utnapishtim or his wife, so perhaps her lack of company makes her feel extremely sentimental to those few that do visit. She asks her husband, â€Å"Gilgamesh came here wearied out, he is worn out; what will you give him to carry him back to his own country (page 116)? † Utnapishtim agrees and tells Gilgamesh of a powerful plant that can revive any man. Gilgamesh retrieves the plant, promising to share it with the elderly in his city, but then shortly after loses it. The part that Utnapishtim’s wife played in this chapter of the epic is a huge contribution to the final stage of civilization for Gilgamesh. . This part is vital because shows how she was able to influence her husband and play a significant role during Gilgamesh’s realization about mortality. If she had never convinced Utnapishtim to tell Gilgamesh about the plant we never would have seen a significant change in Gilgamesh when he swore to share the plants’ magical gifts. Losing the plant civilized him because it showed him how death is part of life, it’s unavoidable and inevitable. It is here that he realizes that although he himself may not live forever, his spirit of good leadership as king can. Although Utnapishtim’s wife is nameless and her role is small, it nonetheless started the final stage of civilization for Gilgamesh. The Epic of Gilgamesh is about civilization and wilderness, death and immortality, love and war. This epic shows the masculinity of men and conveys the image that the men during this journey are in control. They say that a man is the head of the house, but the woman is the neck. She can turn the head any way she wants. Along this journey, it’s the women who civilize, educate, and comfort Enkidu and Gilgamesh on their journey. However, it does not show that the women are superior to men. Instead, it focuses on the fact that women are just as good, or equal to, the power of men. This epic reveals that it is vital for men and women to form a sort of partnership. This is a completely different idea of a relationship between men and women from the first chapter. In the beginning of the epic, there was no partnership between the sexes at all. Every way that Gilgamesh treated the women of his city was for his favor. It becomes necessary in the later chapters that in order to complete this epic journey, there must be a formulated partnership between the women and men. An example of this would be the real partnership between Utnapishtim and his wife. If these two were alone and separated, Gilgamesh would have gone home without anything to bring with him and would have never learned the true meaning of life or death. Together, Utnapishtim and his wife agreed to tell Gilgamesh of the powerful plant. This example illustrates that women are indeed very necessary to the story; however, there must be a sort of partnership between them and the men to truly be successful. From dream interpretation to sex to simply offering something of a cancellation prize, the women reveal that they are solely accountable for the civilization of Gilgamesh and Enkidu.

Web-Footed Gecko essays

Web-Footed Gecko essays The web-footed gecko is native to the Namib Desert, located on the coast of southwest Africa. Living in this location has enabled the gecko to develop many unique physical characteristics that very few, if any, other animals have. The web-footed gecko also has developed a certain way of hunting for food, as well as a way of deterring predators if it feels it may become food. This gecko has also formed breeding methods particular to the region. This five-inch translucent lizard is native to the Namib Desert of southwest Africa. This region receives virtually no rain as the land is composed of bare rock and sand, although during the nights fog rolls in from the Atlantic, cooling the sand dunes. The gecko depends on this moisture to survive, as the geckos thin skin allows it to absorb moisture right out of the air. This reptile burrows during the day to avoid the extreme heat of the desert sun because the sand remains at a constant temperature just a few inches below the surface. Due to the harsh heat of the Namib the gecko has evolved into a nocturnal animal. Its name has derived from its feet, which resemble that of snowshoes in function, and a ducks feet in appearance. This gecko has the scientific nomenclature of Palmatogecko rangei. This name is significant as it shows its relationship to other geckos through its genus name Palmatogecko. The web-footed gecko is classified as follows: Kingdom: Animalia The web-footed gecko is a predator as it has a developed sense of sight. The geckos eyes have adapted to its environment to be more functional than most would expect. The lizards pupils narrow to very small slits in daylight only to transform into very large disks at night to absorb all the light possible. Although the gecko has good visibility, ...

All Is Not Well In the Land of The Lion King essays

All Is Not Well In the Land of The Lion King essays All is Well in Land of The Lion King In the article, Alls Not Well in Land of The Lion King, by Margaret Lazarus, the author over exaggerates an animated classic, investigating as to whether or not the movie is politically correct and morally right. The essay examines and stereotypes the movie, and comes to various misguided conclusions. Lazarus defines the hyenas and the lion, Scar symbolic, and declares that Disney already has gays and blacks ruining the natural order. She also draws to the conclusion that Disney manipulates small childrens minds; encouraging them to believe that Only those born into privilege can bring about change (pg. 440) Lazarus is constantly searching for the underlying meaning throughout the movie, and fails to enjoy it. After a complete analysis of the movie she fails to understand the central idea of the movie. She then proceeds to mock the concept of a young heir to the crown to fighting and standing up for what is rightfully and morally his. She maintains that the movie The Lion King is a metaphor for our society, suggesting that the nation only supports the concept that only the strong do survive in the world. So often a carefree animated tale is scrutinized and psychoanalyzed, and the pureness and innocence are stripped away from it. I fully disagree with Lazarus. The Lion King, was a wonderful, original animation that, broke the Disney stereotyped classics, of a hero that saves a beautiful girl in distress. The Lion King, features a story of doing the right thing, learning to fight for what is right, to stand up for yourself and what you believe in. The Lion King, is an animation, to over analyze in such a fashion as Margaret Lazarus does, is ridiculous and a shame. Lazarus is seeking too much meaning out of this simple tale. The cartoons main purpose is to entertain, not to set all the th...

How to Write Nursing Case Study

How to Write Nursing Case Study How to Write Nursing Case Study A Nursing case study is among the more complex case study papers to write. This is due to the fact that it is comprised of several sections, each with details needed to convey the information required by doctors and medical personnel for treatment. It is also used as an effective means of communication among the various groups involved, including doctors and nurses as well as other medical staff. Writing a nursing case study necessitates one to follow a given number of steps. The first step entails selecting a particular topic that is based on a real life situation that one is allowed to discuss such an issue following one’s experience or current research. The second step is stating various objectives. For instance, a researcher might choose to indicate what knowledge new learners or nurses will have gained by the end of the study. The nursing case study should include at least four objectives of the study. The third section is the introduction which includes detailed information on a given patient together with the patient’s health problem. In this section, information on the patient is provided, such as the patient’s identity or name, gender, and private information such as age and marital status. This part also contains details concerning the patient’s current health status as well related issues. The patient’s history is a crucial topic of discussion in this section. The fourth step consists of the patient’s background information which allows one to gain a better understanding of the patient’s situation. The fifth step requires the researcher to formulate questions. This step is normally taken in order to analyze what will happen to the patient’s situation after a given period of time. For instance, a nurse may decide to acquire from the patient information concerning previous medical diagnostic results regarding the patient’s present condition. The sixth step towards developing a nursing case study involves providing feedback to the patient. This step helps in creating an awareness of the patient’s progress as well as providing details on whether the stated questions were answered accordingly. The final step is the providing of references used in helping the researcher to obtain more information on the subject matter as needed. If you lack confidence in your own skills to compose a compelling nursing case study, you are welcome to order one from an online-based custom writing company. This will help ensure success in your endeavors with minimum expense to you. Get professional Nursing case study help from academic experts at writing service if you need a custom case study in Nursing.

Hepatitis C Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Hepatitis C - Essay Example However, the disease still prevails, and is among the leading causes of chronic liver disease. Hepatitis C is a disease that seriously damages the liver. Transmission of the HCV is commonly through virus-laden blood that enters a person’s circulation through blood transfusion, and breaks in the skin, mouth, and genitals. Those at high risk of getting hepatitis C are persons who inject drugs using shared needles, routinely have blood transfusions (dialysis patients and hemophiliacs) and healthcare workers who can be infected by their patients’ blood. HCV is an RNA virus; its core is made up of ribonucleic acid that serves as the template for reproduction. HCV RNA is protected by a protein layer and encased in a lipid or fatty envelope. HCV has proteins in its lipid coat have receptors on the cell surface of liver cells. The virus attaches to the receptors, is engulfed by the liver cells and released into the cell cytoplasm. Inside the cell, the viral RNA is released and takes over the cell’s ribosomes to begin the translation of protein products coded by the viral RNA. The main product is RNA transcriptase which is the main enzyme responsible for producing the complementary strand (or antisense) of the original HCV RNA. This antisense strand serves as template for producing more HCV. The virus also directs the production of capsomeres that comprise the protein coat of the virus. Several capsomeres assemble and enclose the viral RNA, which then attach to the inner plasma membrane of the liver cell. In a process called budding, the membrane engulfs the assembly and provides it with its lipid coat before releasing the new virus molecules. This is repeatedly done resulting in an endless cycle of virus reproduction leading to liver cell exhaustion, damage (cirrhosis, liver cancer) (Hepatitis C: An Epidemic for Everyone, 2008). HCV has high mutation rates, which means

How Big Global Businesses Compare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

How Big Global Businesses Compare - Essay Example The other GM rival Ford Motor Company keeps up with the modern trends, deploying  iPhones  for corporate use to employees worldwide replacing BlackBerry  smart phones in order to attract more corporate customers(Ford to replace BlackBerrys with Apple iPhones, 2014). The other carmaker Toyota Motor Corporation reported about twenty- three percent up from the previous year, notwithstanding the fact that it is recovering from a series of troubles several years ago caused by the global financial crisis that led to company’s losing money for the first time since the 1950s. However, now it retained its lead over Volkswagen and General Motors top-selling automaker in the world in the first nine months of the year, according to reports (Soble, 2014). Organization culture refers to the certain values, beliefs, principles and ideologies as well as policies that certain organization follows. According to Edgar Schein, to adopt such cultural peculiarities, an organization should go through various changes, adapt to the external environment and learn how to solve problems, be able to adjust changes to the new culture and form the appropriated culture of the workplace. It is believed that there are three models of culture within organization: the artifacts, the values and assumed values. Thus, the  Toyota Production System is appreciated as well as its outstanding performance and a manufacturer. By introducing the scientific method at all levels of the manufacturing, Toyota provides people with the clear state of the expectations, when implements the changes (Spear & Bowen, 1999). The other model of culture within Toyota is in its values, which put customer on the first place, respect its employees, focuses on the international mark ets, thus satisfying more consumers by continuous improvements and innovations in the automobile industry (Our vision, n.d.). While there are three main economic systems,

Security in the Software Life Cycle Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Security in the Software Life Cycle - Essay Example As mentioned earlier there are several phases of SDLC, the first phase has been the Initiation phase. The five security controls that are required in the Initiation phase are: The software is meant for serving the purpose of the client and hence from a developer point of view, it must be ensured that business or client functionality requirements have been fulfilled. Hence in the initiation phase, we begin with the requirement document. It's about engaging the business partner in assessing the security aspects and risk associated and at the same time what could be done so that the protection needs of the software can be covered. The business in most of the cases wouldn't be aware of technical aspects of SDLC and integration of security in it. Hence a set of questionnaires are developed with the sole purpose being the transfer of security related technical issues of the software to the client while keeping things in the language of the business partner. The simpler language would enable developers in unraveling the security requirements of the proposed software. Software development in modern times is a combination of phases based on established norms. The concepts of software engineering as well testing is very useful when policies and standards are taken into consideration. Requirement specification document must include the development model preferred like the waterfall model, liner model or spiral model etc. Use of automated audit history would also help to manage the required changes as well analysis of the current stage of the development of the software. Identify Applicable Regulatory, Compliance, and Privacy Requirements: In this networked world, regulatory requirements have international implications. Service providers like www.amazon.com, www.ebay.com etc. have made their services available all across the world and hence they have to undertake both local and international considerations for regulatory, compliance and privacy requirements. In case of software for e-commerce, users are needed to provide their credit card details and the CVV number. Now, in this case, the website would need SSL certificate from VeriSign. Hence identification of the applicable regulatory, compliance and privacy requirements become a necessity so that software's portability could be without any physical and logical boundary.

National Security and Science and Technology policy Essay

National Security and Science and Technology policy - Essay Example This exceedingly complex mission requires a focused effort from our entire society if we are to be successful. To this end, one primary reason for the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security was to provide the unifying core for the vast national network of organizations and institutions involved in efforts to secure our nation." (http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/theme_home5.jsp, para 2) United States history tells that war prompted the creation of most U.S. government science agencies. The integration of an applied Research and Development programs were essential elements in addressing and supporting the agencies' missions. Elements of fundamental science allows breakthrough of these unlimited opportunities. (http://www.issues.org/18.2/ bonvillian.html, para 18) Thus, R&D, as an integral part in the science and technology policy, has become a major factor in attaining the US national security. The role of science and technology in the nation's security was launched when Thomas Jefferson was commissioned to Lewis and Clark two centuries. Since then, territorial expansion and the industrial revolution continued to drive U.S. science and technology policy throughout the 19th century. The country's unforgettable experiences in the two World Wars and their aftermaths were the primary factors that influenced the government's realization of science and technology in the 20th century which soon became the turning point that lead to the revolution of science and technology and the importance of its research and development programs. (Marburger, 2005) The birth of the National Science Foundation in 1950 was the result of the country's attitudes towards the government's role in science and technology. Larger and more advanced Department of Energy laboratories were existed and established under the Atomic Energy Commission. Military services were at the same time provided with an official research office in 1951. At that time National Institute for Health (NIH) had existed for twenty years, wherein National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) were established eight years later. Some reorganizations occurred after 1960, notably the metamorphosis of the AEC into the Department of Energy and more recently the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, but since 1960 the federal framework has evolved very little. (Marburger, 2005) Presidential science advisors were appointed by the government to take the responsibility in overseeing adherence to a presidential policy that insists on competent, objective, balanced, and open advice. Their roles moreover involves in creating strategies on implementation and enforcement of these policies. (Branscomb, 2005) Some of the most significant roles of science advisors in the US federal government involved national security. During the war they linked the President and top

International entrepreneurship 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

International entrepreneurship 3 - Essay Example Consequently, the use of the term entrepreneurial opportunities begs the question on how these opportunities for investment come about and how different entrepreneurs utilize them, which serves as the basis for this paper. This is due to the ever-growing world of entrepreneurship globally and the need to understand how investments are made starting from the identification of an opportunity to its exploitation. Market Dynamics Entrepreneurial Opportunities in international entrepreneurship can be analyzed on different levels with the first being that of availability of markets to which one can expand to in order to make more business. Then main aspect in this level involves analysis of market dynamics, a crucial factor in determining how far one’s entrepreneurial skills and ventures can go. Concerning international entrepreneurship, this aspect is significant following the presence of many opportunities in the international market, and especially following then availability of many countries that invite entrepreneurs into their countries for different purposes. With market dynamics and their analysis, they determine the success rate of a venture and the availability of the said opportunities (Kor et al 2007, p.1189). For example, having a country play host for one’s entrepreneurial venture brings with it plenty of uncertainties, such that the country must in the first place have a demand for one’s services or goods prior to facilitation or provision of the opportunity. Consequently, for entrepreneurial opportunities to be deemed viable or unviable there must analysis of market dynamics as this is new venture altogether in an attempt to identify the different loopholes and strengths that are readily available. In addition, it allows to conduct feasibility studies for future investments following the presence of uncertain factors in new countries far from the home country and into the host country. Internationalization In addition, there is th e common factor of internationalization of business venture, which act as a focal point for most entrepreneurs and their entrepreneurial ventures (Oyson n.d, p.3). This is following then possibility of founding an institution and the having demand for its gods and services go everywhere into foreign nations. This could also be as a result for the need to expand one’s business in an attempt to have more sales and drive one’s venture into increased profitability. In the former case, entrepreneurial opportunities are brought about by increased demand and this call for bringing one’s venture closer to the people and to the market that is mainly marginalized. This, therefore, presents an opportunity for the entrepreneur to drive the venture into expansion in foreign lands with little or no information raising the question of market dynamics again as these must be looked into prior to taking the entrepreneurial opportunity lest it turns disastrous in losses and uncalc ulated moves. Feasibility Other factors considered in the development of entrepreneurship opportunities in international entrepreneurship include the ability to control different resources in different countries, coupled with strategic management in the said different countri

The 1912 Presidential Election Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The 1912 Presidential Election - Essay Example All candidates were aware of the massive changes sweeping across the American society and made dedicated efforts to answer the reforms necessary to maintain the Progressive order. Progressivism also necessitated the strategy of each candidate towards fighting corruption, modernizing every element of state machinery and reforming the economy in every possible way. Progressivism and the 1912 Presidential Election Israel says that the fact that the 1912 US Presidential election brought forth a significant reform in the American political system is simple enough to highlight the crucial role played by the Progressive Party (78). The Progressive Party not only succeeded in rising to prominence against the two main parties (the Democrats and the Republicans) but also succeeded in wielding significant influence over the next four years on issues on national importance. This is evident since the progressive party gained over 30% of the vote and had a strong contender – Theodore Roosev elt – as its presidential candidate (Berkin 34). ...  The Progressive Party strongly favored support for labor unions and wanted to maintain a tight grip on business enterprises in an effort to regulate American industry. Milkis says that these reformist beliefs stem from the very life of Roosevelt, who spent his early years growing up in a working-class neighborhood in New York (63). One of the primary persons responsible for the departure of Roosevelt was the incumbent president – William Taft. Taft had previously served under Roosevelt’s administration as the ‘Secretary of War’ until 1908 when he was finally chosen as Roosevelt’s successor to be president. However, Taft’s policies grew increasingly conservative in nature and began to create a rift within the party leading to a split in 1912 (Morrisey 25). Unlike Roosevelt, Taft favored lesser regulatory oversight on businesses and more freedom in the hands of business leaders. Taf t reasoned that such freedom was essential for sustaining innovation and productivity in the American economy and that he favored refraining from any external control on American enterprises unless absolutely necessary (Eisenstark 52). Against the backdrop of these two warring parties, the Democrats fielded Woodrow Wilson as their presidential candidate. The in-fighting between the two factions of the Republican Party proved favorable for Wilson as he had to contend with a disorganized opposition. In fact, these trends helped the Democrats resolve their internal differences and helped them evolve into a significant political force.

International entrepreneurship 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

International entrepreneurship 3 - Essay Example Consequently, the use of the term entrepreneurial opportunities begs the question on how these opportunities for investment come about and how different entrepreneurs utilize them, which serves as the basis for this paper. This is due to the ever-growing world of entrepreneurship globally and the need to understand how investments are made starting from the identification of an opportunity to its exploitation. Market Dynamics Entrepreneurial Opportunities in international entrepreneurship can be analyzed on different levels with the first being that of availability of markets to which one can expand to in order to make more business. Then main aspect in this level involves analysis of market dynamics, a crucial factor in determining how far one’s entrepreneurial skills and ventures can go. Concerning international entrepreneurship, this aspect is significant following the presence of many opportunities in the international market, and especially following then availability of many countries that invite entrepreneurs into their countries for different purposes. With market dynamics and their analysis, they determine the success rate of a venture and the availability of the said opportunities (Kor et al 2007, p.1189). For example, having a country play host for one’s entrepreneurial venture brings with it plenty of uncertainties, such that the country must in the first place have a demand for one’s services or goods prior to facilitation or provision of the opportunity. Consequently, for entrepreneurial opportunities to be deemed viable or unviable there must analysis of market dynamics as this is new venture altogether in an attempt to identify the different loopholes and strengths that are readily available. In addition, it allows to conduct feasibility studies for future investments following the presence of uncertain factors in new countries far from the home country and into the host country. Internationalization In addition, there is th e common factor of internationalization of business venture, which act as a focal point for most entrepreneurs and their entrepreneurial ventures (Oyson n.d, p.3). This is following then possibility of founding an institution and the having demand for its gods and services go everywhere into foreign nations. This could also be as a result for the need to expand one’s business in an attempt to have more sales and drive one’s venture into increased profitability. In the former case, entrepreneurial opportunities are brought about by increased demand and this call for bringing one’s venture closer to the people and to the market that is mainly marginalized. This, therefore, presents an opportunity for the entrepreneur to drive the venture into expansion in foreign lands with little or no information raising the question of market dynamics again as these must be looked into prior to taking the entrepreneurial opportunity lest it turns disastrous in losses and uncalc ulated moves. Feasibility Other factors considered in the development of entrepreneurship opportunities in international entrepreneurship include the ability to control different resources in different countries, coupled with strategic management in the said different countri

Write about an economic person ,John Maynard Keynes Essay

Write about an economic person ,John Maynard Keynes - Essay Example From, Cambridge, after failing to proceed with part II of mathematics, he made a debut to the civil service. While at the civil service his tasks were at the office of India. At this office he spent a period of lower than two straight years. The India office experience gave him a chance to learn the particles of financial management as well as administration. Also at the same office he collected material meant for his first authored book. It was published in 1913 under India Currency and Finance title. In this book was a detailed study by Keynes of the monetary system of India. Subsequent to his working at the India office he made a comeback to the University of Cambridge and here he was to spend six years studying mathematics and economics. In 1909 he was the winner of the Adam Smith prize for the written essay by the title The Method of Index Numbers. At this university he learnt economics from none other than Alfred Marshall. Also he was appointed as the Economic Journal editor in 1911 at the age of 28. While working as the editor for this journal he showed a great deal of wealth as an administrator and organizer. Keynes also gained fame after WWI which ran for 1914-18 due to his opposition the Allies imposed punitive reparation payments on Germany while signing the treaty of peace. He argued that the reparations imposed were so huge that the nation of Germany would struggle to fulfill the liabilities whilst remaining unstable politically. Of the five members’ council, he was the most critical. The other members were; Lloyd George- prime minister for Britain, France’s Clemenceau, Italy’s Orlando Vittirio and US president Woodrow Wilson. (Keynes, 2006: xiii, xiv) Keynes has been one of the worldwide celebrated British Economists. Most known about him was the nature of not holding an opinion for a long period. Later in his life he joined the Cambridge University where he studied his economics and

Dance Critique Essay Example for Free

Dance Critique Essay ?On October 20, 2013 a dance performance called â€Å"Crystal Jubilee† took place in the NMSU Center of arts. It was a combination of several types of dances in which we could see the participation of some dance companies, such as Contemporary Dance Theatre, Dancesport Company and Sol y Arena. As a famous Indian Proverb states, â€Å"To watch us dance is to hear our hearts speak†. At the beginning of the performance I was so excited as I usually do not attend this kind of events. One of the first dances was â€Å"Blind Trust†, it was a Latin Dance Style most probably to be rumba, two couples performed in this dance, and they were dressed in a combination of blue. The music was â€Å"Track 8† by Police performed by Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The lights were in a soft mood perfect for the type of dance they performed. The message behind this dance was trust as the title states, before they started dancing they covered their eyes showing the public the trust they had between each other to follow their steps. The quality of their performance was very good; you could easily tell that they were advanced dancers. The atmosphere of the dance was romantic; it made me feel like they knew each other for a long time I could feel their connection as they were performing. Later two flamenco dances that were performed astonished me. The first one was â€Å"Farruca†. The music was â€Å"Farruca Solo Compas†. Their costume was the typical large flamenco dress, with their appropriate makeup and hairstyle. The lights were perfect, as they started you could see their silhouettes performing and later they appeared. The quality of their performance was very good, sometimes they were not coordinated, but they did it with a lot of confidence and security. The atmosphere of the dance was so intense and the sound as they tapped their shoes against the floor you could feel the energy they were transmitting. In addition there was also the dance called â€Å"La primera vez† and it was also flamenco. The music was â€Å"Fue en Sevilla† by Salamarina. This dance was as good as the previous flamenco one; you could also feel the intensity of the dance, it was like you just wanted to stand up and start dancing like them. Afterwards I think my favorite dance of the performance took place, it was called â€Å"Ode to the Borderlands†. The dance was a combination of several Latin dance styles. The music was â€Å"Arrecotin Arrecotan† by Celia Cruz, â€Å"Cuando Piendo en Ti† by Jose Feliciano, â€Å"Celia y Tito† by Celia Cruz and Tito Puente. The music was full of happiness and joy you could just smile by hearing to the songs. Their costumes were not so formal but enough to look elegant. I think that the message was just to transmit us energy, happiness, enjoy the dance. The performance quality of the dancers was very good; you could easily tell that they were advanced dancers. The atmosphere of the dance was of cheerfulness, joy, contentment, it made me feel so good, I just wanted to learn more and dance like them. One of the last dances was â€Å"Looking Back, Love Song For Mom†. It was a contemporary dance. The music was â€Å"I Know You By Heart† by Diane Scanlon and Eve Nelson, sung by Eva Cassidy. In this dance there was only one performer, the costume was perfect for the message that she wanted to transmit, and the light was good as we just wanted to focus on the dancer. The message was totally clear for the public and it was beautiful, it was a quick view on a mother’s life. The performance quality of the dancer was excellent. The atmosphere of the dance was of tenderness, it made me feel happy and kind of sad at the same time, because it remind me my mother and how she has fought for us all these years .

Greenwich Theatre: Be My Baby Essay -- Drama

Greenwich Theatre: Be My Baby Staging ======= The audience was seated in a "square u" shape around the square stage, which faced the audience at a right angle. There were two exits, one at right back and one at left back stage with room to walk between them. There was a curtain in the style of a hospital ward, which was pulled around one of the exits; the exact one depended on the scene, which worked well when it was pulled across the whole stage when Mary was giving birth. The stage was set out with all the scenery incorporated into one set, this included the laundry, Matron's office and Mary and Queenie's Bedroom. When extra scenery was needed, for example, laundry baskets, they had wheels fixed to the bottom so they could be wheeled in and out with ease as needed. The lighting was very effective in that it made the set look like a hospital ward. It also showed the different times of day, as there were different colours behind the window, orange for daybreak, and to set the time of year and temperature. Theatre The theatre was quite small making the audience feel more intimate with the play. Also, the size of the theatre meant that all of the audiences' attention was focused on the actors. There was a tension between the girls when Mary first enters the home. They build the audience up to a climax when Mary Gives birth, using the curtain as a screen as if in a hospital. The play highlighted the problems faced by pregnant girls in the 60's. The theatre, itself was different to those I am used to, it felt more welcoming to walk down a warmly lit narrow staircase. Towards an intimate seating area where the staff showed the audience to their seats in a similar way to that used in a cinema. Characters Mary Mary was portrayed as a bright girl with more confidence than I imagined her to have when I read the script. She walked with her chin up and her back straight. She seemed to be less friendly with Queenie than I thought she should. She also seemed to be a bit too snobbish and "above" everyone else. She spoke with a predominantly English accent, which abruptly changed to northern when she first entered the home, however, after the interval, it changed back again. Mary seemed very set in her ways and to the point in the way that she was portrayed. If Mary were an animal, she would be a peacock as they ar... ... directing the play, I would make her less confident and more eager to fit in. Also, if Mary was seven months pregnant, her father would've noticed so she would dress in baggy clothes or clothes that were too big for her, however, she entered the home wearing a fairly tight skirt and jacket set. The play highlights the problems and flaws in 1960's society, what pregnant girls had to go through and their feelings. They used the stereotypical northern teenager and divided it into four, adding feelings and history. Setting the play in northern England, using northern accents makes the girls sound "backwards" and poor. Audience Reactions The audience laughed mainly at Dolores. Norma made the audience nervous and made them pity her. Mary made the audience feel as if they could relate to her. Queenie was the leader of the girls, and so led the audience into the home and into the other girls' lives. Matron made the audience look up to her, as she was responsible for running the home. Mrs. Adams made the audience feel sorry for her to have to give up her own daughter, but at the same time hated for being so obsessed by her status and what others would think of her.

The Seven-Years War :: American America History

The Seven-Years War The word "privateer" conjures a romantic image in the minds of most Americans. Tales of battle and bounty pervade the folklore of privateering, which has become a cherished, if often overlooked part of our shared heritage. Legends were forged during the battle for American independence, and these men were understandably glorified as part of the formation of our national identity. The fact of the matter is that the vast majority of these men were common opportunists, if noteworthy naval warriors. The profit motive was the driving force behind almost all of their expeditions, and a successful privateer could easily become quite wealthy. In times of peace, these men would be common pirates, pariahs of the maritime community. Commissioned in times of war, they were respected entrepreneurs, serving their purses and their country, if only incidentally the latter. However vulgar their motivation, the system of privateering arose because it provided a valuable service to thecountry, and inde ed the American Revolution might not have been won without their involvement. Many scholars agree that all war begins for economic reasons, and the privateers of the war for independence contributed by attacking the commercial livelihood of Great Britain's merchants. It is ironic that the entire notion of privateering began in Great Britain. In 1649 a frigate named Constant-Warwick was constructed in England for a privateer in the employ of the Earl of Warwick. Seeing how profitable this investment was, a great many of the English peerage commissioned their own privateers. The Seven-Years War saw the proliferation of privateering on both the English and French coasts as each attempted to disrupt their opponent's colonial trade. American investors quickly entered this battle, commissioning ships to prey upon cargo vessels coming to and from French colonial holdings in the Americas. Here began the American privateer heritage, and when the American Revolution began many of these same men viewed the opportunity to profit, and resumed their ventures. The American privateer vessel was a ship "armed and fitted out at private expense for the purpose of preying on the enemy's commerce to the profit of her owners". Not just anyone could be a privateer, however. What distinguished a privateer from a common pirate was a commission, or a letter of marque. These were granted by the government, and were quite easily obtained. The government's benefit was twofold. First, the revolutionary government took a share of the profits from the sale of any cargo captured by a commissioned privateer.

Progressive Movement Essay

The period from 1890 to 1917 in the history of United States is known as Progressive era. This period is marked by an all-encompassing and intensive change in all spheres of American life viz. political, economic and social. According to Nevin and Commager, this period was â€Å"marked by revolt and reform in almost every department of American life. Old political leaders were ousted and new one enlisted; political machinery was overhauled and modernized; political practices were subject to critical scrutiny and those which failed to square with the ideals of democracy were rejected.† (p. 382) These leaders from middle class pleaded for government regulation of big businesses to prevent exploitations pf the weaker sections. Stressing on the needs for reforms, Theodore Roosevelt said, â€Å"†No hard-and-fast rule can be laid down as to the way in which such work [reform] must be done; but most certainly every man, whatever his position, should strive to do it in some way and to some degree.† (Roosevelt) Most of the problems that Progressives wanted to tackle was an outcome of the industrial expansion and the political-industrial coalitions of the Gilded Age. During the Progressive almost every department of American life was overhauled and modernized. Thus Progressivism was a movement with â€Å"predominantly middle class objectives and viewpoint, deriving much of its support from small businessmen, farmers and professional people.† ( Parkes, p.544) At the federal level, the Progressive movement set in with the inauguration of the President Roosevelt curtailed the powers of the large organizations was epitomized through the suite against The Northern Securities Company in 1903. He introduced other legislative measures to breakdown the monopoly of the large corporations. Trust-Busting was the first radical step taken by Roosevelt that was aimed at the breaking of monopolies in any form and its abuses. Second major proponent of Progressivism at the Federal level was President William Howard Taft (1909-1913) who accomplished more progressive legislation than the Roosevelt. He introduced and enacted law to check corrupt practices during the elections. He dissolved ninety trusts under the Sherman Anti-Trust Act (these trusts were saving huge taxes in the name of charity and were involved in certain illegal activities). He strengthened the cause of democracy when he propagated the idea of direct elections for the senators and introduced 17th amendments in the U.S. constitution. Woodrow is the next in the row for progressive presidents. He introduced far-reaching economic reforms and adopted a number other progressive measure to capacitate the entire American spirit with purpose. Hs foremost priority was the revision of tariff and introduction of viable reforms. Secondly, he introduced another Act to reconstruct the monetary and banking sector. Although his program of more progressive reforms were cut short but the outbreak or WW II but two more constitutional amendment (18th and 19th) became effective in his presidency.[1] Progressives could not bring about the revolutionary transformation of the political and economic system. The evident disappointment of the Progressive movement was its disinclination to deal with racial discrimination. Although it had a national agenda but it was meant for Whites only. The Afro-American suffered from the victimization at the social and state level through disfranchisement, Jim Crow laws, and poverty.   Additionally, it failed to address the questions of class conflict and ended in despair for small owners and businessmen. Yet it cannot be denied that through their reforms they tried to revitalize democracy and made the rulers responsible and accountable to the public. â€Å"Perhaps the best known results of this era are the 18th and 19th Amendments, Prohibition and woman suffrage respectively. But this legislation really came at the tail end of the period that has come to be known as the â€Å"Age of Reform.† The amendments were actually the byproducts of an immense social and political upheaval which changed forever the expectations of the role government would play in American society.† (PBS) References Nevins, Allan& Commager, Henry S. 1966. A short history of the United States. New   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   York: A. Knopf. Parkes, Henry B. 1959. The United States of America—A History. New York: Knopf. PBS. The Progressive Era 1900-1918. On-line. Available from Internet, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eleanor/peopleevents/pande08.html, accessed 23 March   2008. [1] 18th Amendment of U.S. Constitution the process of introduction of Prohibition was completed whereas 19th Amendments granted the right of vote to the women on equal terms with men.

Global local fashion

The jackets has elements of a suit collar with peaked lapels, which indicates a tailored easing as well as a crinoline assisting with the shape of the dress which is originally a Western fashion element. (Radon, 2009) Hampton is one of the Japanese designers best understood in the West as he never deviates far from Western culture context. (AFAIK 2005: 23) â€Å"The image that exotic cultures have of themselves is often determined by the dominant West. † (Tennessee 2005:11) Countries that are non- Western have an auto-exotic gaze about their own culture and what constitutes as their own tradition.An â€Å"exotic† product is created by these non-western countries by coking through the eyes of the Western society to see what is perceived as being traditional and exotic to them and then offered back to the West. (Tennessee 2005:11) Abandoning color in favor of monochrome shades in the designs of both Mistake and Hampton in an expression of Japanese aesthetic roots known as â€Å"WBI Saba. † (AFAIK 2005:19) This Japanese tradition as well as dominantly making use of black in their designs is evident in Hammock's autumn/ winter 2010 collection.This expression of WBI Saba led to the minimalist trend of the asses which is still visible n their collections of 2010 for Hampton considering the lack of color and Mistake's 2011 collection due to the very simplistic design of the black undergarments and the clean lines of the paper folded architectural designs as the main focus. (AFAIK, 2005) The models were even styled in a minimalist manner with pulled back hair and white faces with no makeup applied. Mistake creates a different authentic milieu by commenting on the reclassification of the kimono through his work.While it keeps the continent in style, click ©s are inevitable. † Innings, 2011:14) European designers choose elements of African fashion for example fabrics or colors without necessarily having knowledge of the value. African designe rs have now been contributing to the evolution of their culture by using their own heritage as design inspiration and they have been recognized for this by creating contemporary versions of their traditional crafts. Innings, 2011: 14) Western styles being used in African designs today can be seen as a creative adoption rather than a capitulation. Roving, 2009: 135) Western elements in the Black Coffee fashion installation includes the use of fabric to create a Victorian sass's bustle as well as accentuated waists – commenting on Western corset, giving these designs a Western inspired feel. (McGinnis, 2010) Western aesthetics consists of making use of drapes to mask imperfections of the body. Flawless drapes are used in creating a perfect, beautiful skin. (AFAIK 2005:23) Black Coffee mastered the art of draping fabric perfectly with no flaw or overlap in his 2009 design, contributing to the Western idea of fashion aesthetics.An Imaginary idea of African fashion in the Black Co ffee 2009 collection can be found in the Jewelry insisting of long necklaces made out of bulky, round objects which resembles African beads. These beads showcase the imaginary perception of African Jewelry. (Aquanaut, 2013) The Indian design industry caters for the modern Indian women who can be seen as dressing in â€Å"fusion style† by mixing traditional Indian clothing items like the Sari and current trends.They have their own tradition embedded in their style but are interested in following international trends at the same time which can be seen in color, style as well as details. This fusion style will however still be noninsured ethnic by the West. (Tennessee 2005:11) Mannish Roar is an example of an Indian designer who recognized this need for global-local fashion and creates designs as a global brand which consists of Western tastes and international trends with Indian detailing, patterns and design elements giving the designs an â€Å"exotic aura. (Tennessee 2005:11 ) Roar incorporated the global-local notion in his autumn/ winter 2009 collection by referencing the plains of Africa, Amazonian rainforest's as well as the Indian Jungles. Roar exaggerates the perception of an exotic product which is offered back to the West, by making use of super-sampling which is known as creating a random collection of styles into one eclectic collection as he incorporates different cultures. (AFAIK, 2005) Tennessee cites that India is an excellent example of a combined fashion relationship between indigenous culture and Western fashion.Roar has often been referred to as â€Å"the Gilligan of the East† as he also draws inspiration from different cultures all over the world. (Tennessee 2005: 19) Mistake, renowned for his research in textile technology, strongly supported he technological Japanese textile industry concerning the usage of â€Å"lightweight, wrinkle-free and reasonably priced† fabric. (AFAIK 2005:25) Mistake goes to say that: â€Å"T here are no boundaries of what clothes can be made of. Anything can be clothing. † (English, 2005) Japanese designers put great emphasis on fabric technology.

Balance Sheet and Income Statement Analysis

BALANCE SHEET AND INCOME STATEMENT-Identify the different financial statements (BS*, IS, Statement of Stockholders’ Equity, and related notes) -Identify the different components of the BS (Assets: current and long term; Liabilities: current and long term; stockholders’ equity: preferred stock, common stock, PIC, treasury stock) -Identify the different component of the IS (Gross profit, earnings before interest and taxes, interest expense, income tax expense, income from continuing operations, discontinued activities, extraordinary items) -Identify within the IS, BS and Stockholders equity statement: comprehensive income,OCI and accumulated OCIPPE-Identify the different components of PPE (property, plant, equipment) and related accumulation depreciation. Locate the depreciation methods and estimates used for the calculations. -Identify valuation basis (market value or historical costs) and describe the impairment testing procedure for PPE. -Identify the amount of depreci ation expense in the IS (or the notes) Compute profitability ratios and provide a short analysis (see exercise 10-26B).INTANGIBLES-Identify the different components of Intangible assets (marketing, customer, contractual, technological, goodwill) and related accumulation amortization (if available). Locate the amortization methods and estimates used for the calculations. -Identify if they have definite or indefinite life– Describe the impairment testing procedure for PPE. -Identify the amount of amortization expense in the IS (or the notes)LIABILITIES– Identify current liabilities (including contingencies) in the BS – Identify the LT liabilities (nature and the total amount) in the BS – Identify the amount of interest expense in the IS – What type contingencies are disclosed, their probability of occurrence and their range of estimate. – Determine the number of LT debts (loans, bonds etc†¦), related maturity date and rate of interest (co upon for bonds) and amount. – Compute solvency and liquidity ratios and provide a short analysis.STOCKOLDERS’ EQUITY– Identify the types of shares, the number of shares authorized, issued and outstanding (if any, treasury stock) and PIC. For PS, identify the stated rate, covenants/characteristics. – Locate Dividends in the BS and SE (2schedules) and IS.– Identify which types of dividends have been issued (Cash? Stock, Split? Other?) – Identify Accumulated OCI in 2 schedules (BS and statement of stockholders Equity). – Explain briefly the different of Stockholders Equity Statement – Apply ratios related to chapter 13 (end of ppt presentation) and provide a short analysis.CHAPTER 14 – INVESTMENTS– Identify the different investments in the BS and related notes (Debt and Equity), then by classification (Held to Maturity, Trading or Available for sale) – Identify in SE section of the BS the accumulated OCI, then locate in Stockholders Equity Statement, the different movement of OCI (BB +/- changes). – Identify in the IS the OCI component (if any) and comprehensive income. – Check for investment between 20-50% that use the equity method (see notes) – Check for impairment testing for investmentsCHAPTER 17 – LEASING– Identify the capital lease assets and liabilities in the BS and related interest expense plus depreciation expense in the IS. – Identify if there is any operating lease. – What is the nature of every lease (sales-type or direct-financing) and related financial conditions. – Identify the lease payments for the next 5 years and the different categories of leased assets.*BS = Balance Sheet IS = Income Statement SE = Stockholder’s Equity statement (or statement of changes in equity)

Congruence model assignment Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Congruence model assignment - Coursework Example For instance, he ineffectively proposed and oversaw the integration between the different categories of the subsidiaries. Dissatisfaction in the tasks has led to people leaving the company at an alarming rate. For instance, Saunders contents that he is staring at three resignations from his top sales people because of dissatisfaction. The sensitive point is the relationship between the subsidiaries and the way they are respectively managed. The structure is not compact and flexible enough to realize a need for change amid growing levels of dissatisfaction and employees. The structure does not seem to give rise to sufficient manpower to manage the available work processes. Decision making processes are not fruitful in the long run. Saunders seems to blame Jim for proposing the merging of the subsidiaries. This is a structural decision that left the sales people asking to resign. The structure (attached in the appendix) is not as compact as expected. For example, the president seems to be in charge of all operations while the second-in-command groups have little to do with the decisions of the company apart from financial. That is why the unity of all the subsidiary teams is not close and

Injustice of the Copyright Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Injustice of the Copyright Law - Essay Example Users continued to break the law. Yet, these users that violated the law and placed themselves at threat of prosecution and fines were the true citizens. The illegal peer-to-peer services and the citizens that used them were instrumental in redefining the music industry for the benefit of both the consumer and the artist. The importance of the copyright law in reference to audio reproduction has been a direct result of the available technology. In the 1980s the cassette player was the main device available for music reproduction. Successive reproductions decreased the recording quality and manufactures and distributors were able to maintain a competitive edge with respect to product quality. In addition, there were no channels for trading copies and availability was limited to physical contact with the media. This generally restricted the ability to copy a tape to a limited circle of friends. Large scale counterfeit operations were easier to intercept in the marketing stream and were generally highly visible to law enforcement (Kim, 2004). Enforcement of the law was usually a matter of the priorities set by state agencies. In the case of the flourishing overseas bootleg markets, little enforcement was available. However, with the advent of the Internet, peer-to-peer networks, and the Internet the abi lity to trade and reproduce music has expanded exponentially. Digital MP3 copies do not degrade in quality, which removes the original manufacturers competitive edge. There is no need for physical contact of the media and there are no restrictions on the availability as the source can be anywhere in the world and totally anonymous. Historically, reproduction of copyrighted material has been exempted from coverage by the 'Fair and Private Use' clauses of the copyright laws. Fair use allows for the reproduction for certain academic, review, and informational purposes without the consent of the copyright holder. Private use allows for reproduction for personal use and no commercial gain. However, The United States copyright laws were amended in 1992 with the addition of Chapter 10 to the Audio Home Recording Act. This amendment specifically addressed the use of digital audio recording and playback devices and media. The courts have been clear as to the copyright infringement of the reproduction of MP3 audio on computing devices. To be considered a digital audio recording device, the equipment must be, "...designed or marketed for the primary purpose of, and that is capable of, making a digital audio copied recording for private use" (US Code collection, n.d.). Thus, the home computer and hard drive were not exempt ed from the copyright laws as an MP3 player or dictation machine may be. With the rapid onset of advancing technologies and the proliferation of peer-to-peer networking in the late 1990s, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) became more pro-active in their efforts to insure the copyright laws were being enforced. The RIAA that represented the recording industry insisted, "...this theft has hurt the music community, with thousands of layoffs, songwriters out of work and new artists having a harder time getting signed and breaking into the business" (Piracy: Online and on the street, n.d.). The trade group asserted that it was losing billions of dollars to services such as Napster, WinMX, Morpheus, and

Down Syndrome Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Down Syndrome - Research Paper Example In this assignment the particular emphasis would be on translocation as it occurs in Downs’ Syndrome. Downs’ Syndrome is also known as trisomy 21 in which the process of translocation occurs on the chromosome number 21. This essay would further revolve around Downs’ Syndrome putting forward each and every aspect that is important in understanding the syndrome. Translocation In order to understand the basics of Down syndrome one has to know enough about the structural abnormality of translocation. Translocation is a process in which the whole segment of a chromosome is exchanged by another chromosome. In other words a part of chromosome is exchanged with another part of another chromosome. There are two types of translocations known as reciprocal translocations and Robertosonian translocations. Reciprocal translocation takes place when segments are exchanged between nonhomologous pairs of chromosomes. Reciprocal translocation usually does not cause any disease or symptom but it may cause leukemia. However in some cases this type of translocation leads to abnormal fertilization and hence abnormal birth. Robertosonian translocations are the ones which are more lethal and occur between two acrocentric chromosomes. The acrocentric chromosomes break near the centromere or the middle part of the chromosome and then join together in such a way that the p arm of the chromosome is lost. This type of translocation occurs in many different types of syndromes and can cause a profound effect on the individual. Trisomy 21 or Down syndrome is a cause of Robertosonian translocation and has a profound effect on the individual (Sadler 2009; Ugazio et al 1990) Prevalence of Down syndrome Down syndrome has been seen as a major chromosomal disorder occurring in the United States. The incidence of Down syndrome found in the newborns of United States is 1 in 700. The problem is further aggravating as the genetic problem has yet not been provided with any cure. The problem of Down syndrome has increased over decades and this has been proved by a research carried out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Although women choose to end pregnancies with trisomy 21 it is still seen that the genetic problem is on the increase. It was also found that mothers with an age over 35 were more prone to the problem than the mothers who were below that age. Although the problem has been accounted to the maternal age it is still seen that the birth trends move women to give birth at an older age. The CDC reported an increase from 9 infants per 10,000 births to 11.8 in 10 diverse states of the United States of America. However on the other hand the prevalence of Down syndrome has remained steady in the United Kingdom. Prenatal diagnosis and other methods have also helped mothers to get over the problems that are associated with the syndrome. It was estimated that around 92 percent of the mothers choose abortion when they found that the embryo had trisomy 21 (James 2009). History of Down syndrome Although much has become known about Down syndrome in the recent centuries it is analyzed that the syndrome dates back to the 16th century. The condition could not be recognized in those times until finally in 1866 when Doctor John Langdon Down found about it. He analyzed that many of the children that he was treating shared certain characteristics. Before the syndrome was identified

Canset crotec Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Canset crotec - Essay Example He has performed all over the world in some of the most famous orchestras. Lucia Lin started playing at a young age which the Chicago Symphony orchestra. This is one of the most famous American orchestras. The violist, Steven Ansell plays with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Michael. Michael Reynalds started with the Muir Quartet, 33 years of playing with the same group. Mendelssohns Quartet in A minor, Op 13 is one of 6 quartets that he wrote in his life time. Mendelssohn lived from 1809 to 1847. This particular quartet was written in 1827. It was written in the typical late classical style. The colors of the piece are romantic. The quartet does not end with a finale but with a question mark . The textures are like a quartet. He wrote this one the year Beethoven died. He was only 18 years old There is a classical style with 4 movements. The tempo starts with an adagio and goes to an allegro to an andante and finishes with an adagio. Within the four movements, there are many variations. The first movements starts slowly and the last ends slowly which is with a romantic flair. He is ending on a question mark. Beethovens influence is highly heard. The Dvorak Double Bass Quintet added a Bass instrument to the quartet. "This is one of Dvorak earlier and unknown of pieces" as spoken by the bass player when he explained more about the piece. We never learn his name. The cello becomes freer as he is no longer obliged to be accompany the other instruments. He becomes a soloist. There are times the cellist plays with the first violinist as a duet in the first movement. This is really interesting for a quintet, the viola and the bass start with a 5 note theme that is repeated throughout the whole first movement, either in the 5 note theme or harmony or variations of rhythm. Antoin Dvorak wrote this piece later in his career 1876. It is more in the classical quartet style of 4 movements than Mendelssohn but the orchestration is

Comparative analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Comparative analysis - Research Paper Example While both paintings are inspired by biblical readings, Michelangelo’s painting is from a story in the beginning of biblical times while Giotto’s painting is a vision of the end. Both paintings are divided in the middle, depicting opposites of events on either side. In the Fall and Expulsion from Garden of Eden, the image is divided by the controversial Tree of Knowledge, with the left side showing Adam and Eve enjoying the bliss of paradise while the right side showing them being ousted by an angel from the garden to fend for themselves. In Giotto’s Last Judgment, the image is likewise divided on the lower half with a cross dividing the picture into visions of those called to heaven and those thrown to hell. Both paintings show visions of the enjoyment of God’s grace as well as the consequences of sin. Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) was placed under the tutelage of a number of gifted artists ever since he was a young boy. Critics believe his work was influenced by the masters, Leonardo, Giotto and Poliziano. They were impressed by the boy’s extreme sensitivity, and his combination of energy and talent. Michelangelo was commissioned to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel by the Pope himself for his own personal worship space (awakentoprayer.org). The Fall and Expulsion from Garden of Eden is just one of the panels devoted to Creation. The flow of the story of the image is from left to right. On the left side, a relaxed couple is shown enjoying the fruit from the forbidden tree while the background denotes lush and abundance. The serpent entwines itself to the tree while tempting Adam and Eve. It symbolically divides the image denoting its representation of man’s separation from God’s graces as the couple is ousted from the garden. The right side shows total desolation and the look of frustration and regret in the couple’s faces while an angel drives them away (Web Gallery of Art). Giotto di Bondon e (1266-1337) is another renowned Italian artist whose works have been influenced by Pietro Cavallini, Nicola and Giovanni Pisano. In 1304, he began a series of 38 frescoes in the Scrovegni (Arena) Chapel in Padua which mostly depict biblical images His works builds up a rhythm from solemn and slow-moving to supremely forceful drama but are filled with compassion (Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia). He is also adept in the use of space, adding appropriate figures in the background culled from his own interpretation of the image making them powerful visions. In The Last Judgment, Giotto paints the top part to show heaven with Jesus in the middle and the apostles at both sides while the lower part shows the chosen that are blessed to enter the gates of heaven on the left side and the doomed that are sent to hell on the right side. Archangels Michael and Raphael are in the middle holding the cross (artbible.info). Ladis suggests that Giotto’s wit and humor is evident in his work especially in his treatment of hell in the painting. Those subjected to eternal damnation are depicted trying their best to escape their judgment but none can hide, as everyone is owned by Satan (586). Both artists are expert in capturing the emotions of the subjects and in turn, evoking the emotions of their viewers. Michelangelo has been known to be a master in the human form, and this shows

Human Physical Appearance and Women Essay Example for Free

Human Physical Appearance and Women Essay Throughout these moments in time, the term beauty has slipped out of control and become something utterly dissimilar. The significance of beauty has developed into something so unappealing, so unpleasant, so repugnant, that even now society is coming to the apprehension that the way they are portraying the description of beauty is erroneous. Over time, ‘beauty’ has evolved to something rather peripheral. Being beautiful is turning into an undesirable act, that most girls will go into extremes, just to get a sense of feeling ‘beautiful. ’ Although beauty is now considered something by which your looks will define, during Greek times â€Å"beauty was a virtue: a kind of excellence. Person’s then were assumed to be what we now have to call – lamely, enviously – whole persons. If it did occur to the Greeks to distinguish between a person’s â€Å"inside† and â€Å"outside†, they expected that inner beauty would be matched by beauty of the other kind† (313, Sontag). Nevertheless, there was once a time where beauty was interpreted or described as something internal, unlike now, beauty goes more towards the looks. â€Å"Beautiful† people have lots going on for them. They are more confident, make more money, and get promoted faster than their â€Å"less attractive† colleagues. But for the career – driven women, beauty is a no-win situation; the public wants you to be attractive, but, at the same time, not so beautiful that it is off-putting. People might say that looks shouldn’t matter, but in the real world, they do. Women try so hard to look their best, and at the same time, feel their best. Women struggle a lot in trying to â€Å"fit in† to what society sees as being beautiful. Women nowadays alter their body parts, faces, and their diets in order to feel satisfied with themselves. A universal obsession that girls have been approaching with is that that they must be required to look a certain way to be thought of as pretty. Girls look up to celebrities and models and see how skinny, scrawny, almost skeletal, and undernourished they are and they get this idea that they must look like that in order to be noticed. A widespread trend that has been going around has been that of the name anorexia and bulimia. Starving yourself, or eating excessively and then purging – girls see it as something they must do in order to feel good about themselves. They glimpse these famous figures with their collarbones showing, thigh gaps, small waists, and they get this state of mind that they must achieve that to feel beautiful. Society and mass media are barraging women with images that portray what is considered to be the ideal body. Such standards of beauty are almost completely unattainable for most women; a majority of the models displayed on television and in advertisements are well below what is considered healthy body weight. Mass medias use of such unrealistic models sends an implicit message that in order for a woman to be considered beautiful, she must be unhealthy. And this is what beauty is defined as in our time. Body image is a complicated aspect of the self-concept that concerns an individuals perceptions and feelings about their body and physical appearance. Females of all ages seem to be so vulnerable in this area, starting off in their pre-teen years, going along throughout their existence. Body dissatisfaction is something that goes through most women or young girls at some point in their lives. Females have been found to experience dissatisfaction with physical appearance at a much higher rate than males, and women of all ages and sizes display body image disturbance. Concern over weight and appearance related issues often surfaces in a woman’s early life. Body dissatisfaction and disordered eating patterns have been found to be an especially prevalent issue in adolescent and college females. Body image becomes a major issue as females go through puberty; girls in mid-adolescence frequently report being dissatisfied with weight, fearing further weight gain, and being preoccupied with weight loss. This is a problem that we are now facing, and because of this many girls are suffering and going through difficult times, juts to feel good about themselves. The 20th century has seen a huge upsurge in the importance placed by Western society on physical beauty, particularly for women. The fashion, cosmetics and plastic surgery industries have thrived on 20th century preoccupation with physical appearance. It is a preoccupation that affects women in every sphere, whether they choose to pander to it or not. Definitions of beauty in the 20th century, when referring to human physical  beauty, are nearly always constructed in terms of outward appearance and sexual attractiveness. Images in the media today project an unrealistic and even dangerous standard of feminine beauty that can have a powerful influence on the way women view themselves. From the perspective of the mass media, thinness is idealized and expected for women to be considered attractive. Images in advertisements, television, and music usually portray the ideal woman as tall, white, and thin, with a tubular body, and blonde hair. This representation that is being portrayed has been a vast difficulty that girls are coming across of. They don’t feel beautiful, thus altering their ways of eating and the way they look very drastically in order to fit in. Only a very small percentage of women in Western countries meet the criteria the media uses to define beautiful; yet so many women are repeatedly exposed to media images that send the message that a woman is not acceptable and attractive if she does not match societys ultra-thin standard of beauty. In recent years, womens body sizes have grown larger, while societal standards of body shape have become much thinner. This discrepancy has made it increasingly difficult for most women to achieve the current sociocultural ideal. Such a standard of perfection is unrealistic and even dangerous. Many of the models shown on television, advertisements, and in other forms of popular media are approximately 20% below ideal body weight, thus meeting the diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa. Research has repeatedly shown that constant exposure to thin models fosters body image concerns and disordered eating in many females. Almost all forms of the media contain unrealistic images, and the negative effects of such idealistic portrayals have been demonstrated in numerous studies. The mass medias depiction of women portrays a standard of beauty that is unrealistic and unattainable for a majority of women in society. Models shown in all forms of popular media are often under what is considered healthy body weight, which sends a powerful message that women must sacrifice their health to be considered attractive by societal standards. The negative effects of ultra-thin media images of women have been well documented; research has shown that females who are repeatedly exposed to and internalize the thin ideal are at greater risk to develop body image disturbance and eating pathology. Although it is clear that the media influences the way women view themselves, it is unclear how this process takes place. The social comparison theory, cultivation theory, and self-schema theory can be used to examine how media images of women come to affect the way women feel about their bodies and physical appearance. These perspectives also give some explanation for why some women show resilience to the negative effects of the media, while others are dramatically impacted. Nevertheless, beauty has become something rather disturbing and unwell. The image of beauty has been portrayed onto something so popularized that mostly all women around the world are being affected by it. Women are changing their ways and changing themselves to feel as if they fit in to what society expects of it. Beauty is still evolving, and is changing throughout the time, not for the better but for the worst.

Management Accounting: Information for Decision-making

Management Accounting: Information for Decision-making Management accounting information should comply with a number of criteria including verifiability, objectivity, timeliness, comparability, reliability, understandability and relevance if it is to be useful in planning, control and decision-making. Explain the meaning of each of the criteria named above and give a specific example to illustrate each. Give a brief explanation of how the criteria detailed in (a) might be in conflict with each other, giving examples to illustrate where such conflict might arise. Question 2 : (Information for decision-making) The overriding feature of information for decision-making is that it should be relevant for the decision being taken. However, decision-making varies considerably at different levels within an organization, thus posing a particular difficulties for the management accountant. Describe the characteristics of decision-making at different levels within an organization. Explain how the management accountant must tailor the information provided for the various level. Question 1 (a) Management accounting information should comply with a various number of criteria including verifiability, objectivity, timeliness, comparability, reliability, understandability and relevance if it is to be useful in planning, control and decision-making. Below we are discussing about the criteria needed to achieve its natural reason which is for planning, control and decision- making. The first criteria of management accounting information is verifiability. It means the ability through consensus among measurers to ensure that the information represents the purposes and the right method of measurement has been used without any errors or bias. It also means that it is observable to outsiders, in the context of model of information. Verifiability refers to the ability of accountants to ensure that accounting information is what it is meant to be. The outsiders cannot see the accounting informations and the references to those variables in a contract between the two parties cannot be enforced by outside authorities. An example of verifiability is that of two accountants looking at the same information like inventory valuation and coming to similar conclusions. There are three key aspects in verifiability. The first aspect is consensus among observers. The second one is the assurance of correspondence to economic things and events. The third key aspect is direct verifi cation versus indirect verification. Besides that, objectivity is another criteria that is also another useful aspect in planning and making decisions. Most accountants these days rely on verifiable evidence. Example of verifiable evidence are invoices, delivery notes, receipts, physical counts or even financial statements. By practicing objectivity, it is now possible to compare financial statements of different firms with an assurance of reliability and also uniformity. In another words, when the management accountant is providing information to the top-level management, they should provide the accurate result without altering or changing anything so that the manager will be able to make a accurate decision without being influenced by anyone. Moreover, Timeliness is one of the important parts for management to balance the relative merits of timely reporting and the provision of reliable information. Timeliness is concerned with having information to meet needs of decision makers before it loses its capacity to influence decisions. More accurate information may take a longer time to produce. Thus, to provide information on a timely basis, it may often be necessary to report before all aspects of management accounting transactions or any other event. Example, a firm may test-market a potential new product in a city. Despite a long wait for the accurate marketing report may cause a slight delay in the managements decision to launch the new product nationally and the information will be useless to the decision making process. Thus, it is one of the managerial accountants role in the decision-making process which will decide what information is relevant to each decision problem and provide accurate and timely data. Not forgett ing that its a conflicting criteria. Delaying information can significantly influence decisions and can rob information of its potential usefulness. Timeliness can have a direct impact on stock prices. Late reporting can represent bad news or a negative forecast. If the delay is great, it allows the opportunity for more information to be reported and to be supplied or maybe even speculated on by other sources. The next criteria is comparability. This criteria helps us to compare the financial statement of an entity through time in order to identify trends in its financial position and performance. At the same time, this criteria also helps to evaluate and compare the financial statements of different entities. It provides information about a particular entity that can be compared with information about other entities and with similar information about the same entity for some period or some other point of time. For an example, the management accountant should prepare the accounting information in a consistent way using historical concept for every year so that it will be much easier for the company to make comparison with the past accounting information or related entities. The heads of the company must determine if they want comparability to be driven by the type of instrument or other factors such as management intentions and industry segments. For an example, financial service, software and also manufacturing. Another criteria which is also needed is reliability. It is the quality of information that assures that information is reasonable free from any errors and are bias and faithfully represents what it purports to represent. It related to faithful representations and verifiability. An aspect in the context of reporting for financial instruments is the reliability of measurements including relevant disclosures about such reliability. For example, the staff has observed that many constituents seem to equate reliability with verifiability, not representational faithfulness. For purposes of discussion at this meeting, the staff plans to collect those sub-characteristics into three groups. The first one is, Faithful representation, including completeness and substance over form. The second one is verifiability, including precision and uncertainty. The last one is neutrality, including freedom from bias, prudence, and conservatism. The second last criteria is understandability. It relates to the users perspective and financial informations that are useful. It could be increased by reducing complexities for users through reporting information that represents the underlying economics, or by reducing the number of alternative accounting methods applicable to a subset of asset. Informations that increases the understandability are definitely very useful. Understandability is known as when the users have a reasonable knowledge of business and economic activities and accounting and a willingness to know more the information with reasonable diligence. Information about complex matters that should be included in the financial statements because of its relevance to the economic decision making needs of users should not be excluded merely on the grounds that it may be too difficult for certain users to understand. For the example, management accountant should prepare the accounting information or summarize of the report and analysis that easily understood to the decision maker in order to let them easy to make final decision. One other noteworthy aspect of the interaction of the financial statements and Management Commentary is the understandability of the information provided in the financial reports. Understandability can be adversely impacted by placing related information in different parts of a report and not providing the user with a cross reference. If the IASB does add guidance on Management Commentary to its existing guidance on financial statement disclosures, this would provide an opportunity to better integrate related information. The last criteria is relevance. It is also very important in the planning, control and decision-making. Relevance is the capacity of informations that are needed to make a difference in a decision by helping the users to form predictions about the outcomes of the past, present and future events or even to confirm or correct prior expectations. Relevance may be represented by determining which values assigned to financial instruments allows user to make better decisions based on the information provided to them. Informations may be deemed more or less relevant based on which measurement basis is being used. Different decisions basically will require different type of data. For example, an analysis on a project should not have any information on indirect costs because it is not relevant for making decision of the project and should include any prime cost because it is relevant cost for the decision-making. Question 1 (b) Management accounting information is used to satisfy the management needs. Those informations are useful for planning, controlling and decision making. However, these criteria also face conflict amongst one another. Conflict simply refers to the incompatibility or interference of ones idea, event, or activity with another. In this case, the conflict between criteria will happen when satisfying a criterion affects another criterion being difficult to fulfill as they are in collision with each other. They are few types of conflicts involved. Below are the conflicts. Relevance vs Reliability Relevance and reliability are two important criteria which are needed while making a decision. However, often there are some conflicts occur because of these two conflicts, requiring a trade-off between various degrees of relevance and reliability. A forecast of a financial variable may possess a high degree of relevance to investors and creditors. However, a forecast necessarily contains subjectivity in the estimation of future events. Therefore, because of a low degree of reliability, generally accepted accounting principles do not require companies to provide forecasts of any financial variables. Reliability and relevance often impinge on each other. Reliability may suffer when an accounting method is changed to gain relevance and vice versa. Sometimes, it may not be clear whether there has been a loss or either on relevance or reliability. The introduction of current cost accounting will illustrate the point. Proponents of current cost accounting believe that current cost income from continuing operations is a more relevant measure of operating performance than is operating profit computed on the basis of historical cost. They also believe that if holding gains and losses that may have accrued in past periods are separately displayed, current cost income from continuing operations better portrays operating performance. The uncertainties surrounding the determination of current costs, however, are considerable, and variations among estimates of their magnitude can be expected. Because of those variations, verifiability or representational faithfulness, components of reliability, might diminish. Whether there is a net gain to users of the information obviously depends on the relative weights attached to relevance and reliability (assuming, of course, that the claims made for current cost accounting are accepted). Comparability vs Consistency Comparability is another important criteria for planning control and decision making. Comparability which enables users to identify similarities in and differences between economic phenomena should be distinguished from consistency; the consistent use of accounting methods. Concerns about comparability or consistency should not preclude reporting information that is of greater relevance or that more faithfully represents the economic phenomena it purports to represent. If such concerns arise, disclosures can help to compensate for lessened comparability or consistency. Timeliness vs verifiability Timeliness and verifiability is needed all times for decision making. Information is useful when it is timely. To be timely, the information must be available when needed to define problem or to be begin to identify possible solutions. Those criteria might conflict with verifiability. It is because when needed verifiability information, it may take time to calculate or to get it after production process is end. Verifiability is the useful information when it is accurate. Before relying on information to make decisions, it is important to ensure that the information is correct. For example, a production manager has to decide the actual amount of lychee to be used in produce of 10000 units of lychee drink. But, because of the time given is limited, he has to prepare the report to the top management by forecasting the amount of lychee that will be used. Although he has meet the criteria of timeliness, he is might not meet the criteria of verifiable. This is because, he did not use the a ctual amount of lychee that will be used. This might cause some problems to occur during the production process. The cost of lychee is lower or others factors. When the production has come to an end, he will be able to know the actual amount of lychee that was been used. So, there is a conflict between timeliness and verifiability. Timeliness vs reliability Another conflict is between timeliness and reliability. Information is said to be reliable when they incorporate all aspects of a transaction as well as other events in order to facilitate users in deciding on any issue regarding the latter. However, most of the times in providing timely reporting, those aforesaid transactions or events are never taken into account as it occurs after the report is prepared and thus impairing reliability. In interest of timeliness, the reliability of the information is sacrificed, every loss of reliability diminishes the usefulness of information and as time pass, and either the reliability of the information drops or increase accordingly. For example, the material supplier decides to supply only one of the Material A. Company Y is very interested and is capable to buy the Material A. The supplier is interested on selling the Material A to Company Y, but there is no contract signed between them. As time passes, the supplier received an offer from Comp any Zs, with a higher price and shorter time compared to Company Y. Therefore, Material A is selling to Company Z and Y loses the Material A. Company Y is reliable on material supplier to get the Material A yet the supplier needed to sell the Material A in a shorter time to get the profit. So, supplier decides to sell it to Company Z. Thus, the criterion of timeliness is conflict with criteria of reliability. Question 2(a) The process identifying problems and opportunities and resolving them is called as Decision Making. Decision making is intertwined with the other functions such as planning, coordinating and controlling. Decisions are made in order to change the companys current status to a more desirable state of affair. Managers, teams, and individual employees make company decisions, depends on the scope of the decision and the design and structure of the organization. Organizations which have decentralized structures will delegate more decisions to teams and front-line employees. Programmability, uncertainty, risk, conflict, scope, and crisis are the characteristics of decision making. Programmability is divided into two. They are programmed decisions and non-programmed decision. Programmed decision means identifying a problem and matching the problem with established routines and procedures for resolving it. Whereas, the non-programmed decision is the process of identifying and solving a problem when a situation is unique and there are no any previously established routines or procedures that can be used as guidelines. Uncertainty also has two types. They are certainty and uncertainty. Certainty is the condition when all the information is needed to make a decision. However, uncertainty is the condition when the information available to make a management decision is incomplete. Risk is the level of uncertainty as to the outcome of a management decision. Risk has positive and negative aspects too. Decision environment for risk vary depending on company size and culture. Those who work in entrepreneurial firm must be more comfortable with making risky decisions than those who work in large corporations with established procedures. Next characteristic of decision making is conflict. It is always hard to get everyone to agree about what to do. Conflict over opposing goals, utilization of scarce resources, and other priorities are often characterized in decision making. Decision scope is the effect and time horizon of the decision. The effect of a decision includes who is involved in making the decision and who is affected by it. The time horizon of a decision may range from a single day to five years or more. There are three different level of management. They are the top-level management, middle level management and the lower management. The top-level management takes the strategic decisions. The middle level management takes tactical decision. And the lower level management takes the operational decision. The top level management who makes the Strategic decisions encompasses a long term perspective of two to five years and affect the entire organization. Top level managers, or strategic manager are also called senior management and executives. They are those individuals who are at the top one or two levels in an organization. Examples of top level management are The Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Chief Operational Officer (COO), Chief Informational Officer (CIO), President, Vice President, Chairman and Board of Directors. They have the long-term vision for the company. They are not involved in day-to-day tasks need to possess conceptual skill so as to set the goals for the organization as a whole. For example, Jerry Yang, the former chief executive of YAHOO, was criticized when a $44.6 billion acquisition bid from Microsoft failed under his watch. They frame the organizational policy. They are also responsible for mobilization of resources. They generall y make large budgetary decisions for the company and are responsible to the shareholders and the general public. The success or failure of the organization rests on the shoulders of the top level management. Middle level managers are those in the levels below the top managers. Middle level management makes Tactical decisions which have a short-term perspective of one year or less and focus on subunits of the organization, such as departments or project teams. Tactical decision is the mixture of strategic decision and operational decision. Example of middle management is General Manager (GM), Plant Manager, Regional manager and Divisional manager. Middle level managers are responsible for carrying out the goals set out by top management with setting goals for their departments and other business units. Tactical decisions, the medium term decisions about how to implement strategy, are delegated to middle managers. Middle management decisions might include marketing a new product, communicating with and managing lower management and determining what issues need to be addressed with top level managers. Each individual middle management department develops a strategy to meet its inner departm ental goals. Lower level management makes Operational decisions which cover the shortest time perspective, generally less than a year. Operational decisions, short term decision or also called administrative decisions about how to implement the tactics affect daily tasks and generally handled by lower level managers. They are often made on a daily or weekly basis and focus on the routine activities of the firm such as production, customer service, and handling parts and supplies. Office managers, shift supervisor, department manager, foreperson, crew leader and store manager, are responsible for the daily management of line workers. For example, supervisor may decide to reward the most productive employee with an employee of the month award, or offer incentives such as gift certificates. The last characteristic of decision making is Crisis. Decision making during crisis is more challenging and difficult than under ordinary conditions. Making a decision in a crisis situation can make or break the career of a manager.   Question 2(b) A management accountants duty is to provide information to users who are part of the organization from various levels. However, different level of management has different information needs. Thus, a management accountant has to tailor the information for them. The first step that should be taken before the management accountant provides any type of information is that he should be clear and understand the company vision as the top, middle and bottom management of an organization. The top-level management is responsible for the long term strategis plan with strategic decisions for about 5 to 10 years time. Therefore the top management will create a mission, which will consist of a more specific goal that unifies companys efforts. So, the management accountant should prepare budgets for top management accountant to decide which projects have to undertaken to achieve the companys goals. Budget is a strategic plan that details the action that must be taken during the following year. It also pinpoint the responsibility of achieving the budgets to respective managers inline the company policies. For example, management accountant prepare the imposed budgets to top management before imposed to middle management to achieve targets. In the top-leve l management, a management accountant should be responsible for all or a part of a companys financial status, actions and transactions. The management accountant should also maintain budgets, perform financial analysis, build business strategies and also manage their relationships with investors and auditors. In middle management, they are responsible for developing and carrying the tactical plans to accomplish the organizations mission. Tactical plans specify how company will use resource, budgets and people to achieve company goals within its mission. In this level, management accountant will use various methods to decide the profit with minimum production costs. Profit volume analysis is one of the methods to calculate changes in cost and sales in determine the profit. Management accountant will calculate breakeven point where the level of sales of company needs to achieve at zero profit. After that, management accountant also prepared the report on scare resources which the supply of resources is limited by define the limit factor. Then, management accountant will produce the product that give higher contribution per limiting factor and take considerations of qualitative factors before final decisions is made. Final decisions is means whether to make or to buy the decision. It is situ ation where an organization is given a choice to produce by own resources or pay other organization to make the product. After management accountant prepare the information in form of cost volume profit, limiting factors analysis and decisions about activities either to buy or to make, middle management have to decide, carrying the tactical plans and delegating the responsibility of jobs to the operational management. In a summary, the types of information that a management accountant should tailor to middle-level management is like preparing financial statements, assess internal controls, supervise accounting staffs, complete and review tax returns and also help to manage the general ledger. Lower lever management is responsible to carry the operational plans where it is related to day to day plans in producing products or services. For example, management accountant will determine the economic order quantity for lower management to know the amount of inventory they should reorder order to minimize ordering cost and holding costs. Therefore, lower level management will order the maximum order. In the lower level, the types of informations a management accountant should tailor are receivables and payrolls, financial statement and compliance audit, help in the budget department and also prepare reports for the controllers department. Question 2(c) An example of a typical management decision is Strategic Decision. Strategic Decision would normally be taken at first level which is top management. A top management approach is one where an executive, decision maker, or other person or body makes a decision. This approach is disseminated under their authority to lower levels in the hierarchy, who are, to a greater or lesser extent, bound by them. For example, a structure in which decisions either are approved by a manager, or approved by his or her authorized representatives based on the managers prior guidelines, is top to bottom management. Top management translates the policy (formulated by the board-of-directors) into goals, objectives, and strategies, and projects a shared-vision of the future. It makes decisions that affect everyone in the organization, and is held entirely responsible for the success or failure of the enterprise Strategic decisions are broad based, qualitative type of decisions which include or reflect goals and objectives. Strategic decisions are non quantitative in nature. Strategic decisions are based on the subjective thinking of management concerning goals and objectives. Besides that, there are impact of mergers and acquisitions on top level management. Impact of mergers and acquisitions on top level management may actually involve a clash of the egos. There might be variations in the cultures of the two organizations. Under the new set up the manager may be asked to implement such policies or strategies, which may not be quite approved by him. When such a situation arises, the main focus of the organization gets diverted and executives become busy either settling matters among themselves or moving on. However, the decision maker must be well equipped with a degree or must have sufficient qualification to solve the problems that arises. Knowledge of management accounting is needed by the decision-maker to come out with relevant information. A part of that, there might be an impact on tax because of this decision made. The information provided not only for the inside people but also for the external people such as shareholders or supplier. On the other hand, top management will practises non-routine concept for all the activities held. Non-routine is known as nonrecurring decision such as the following to accept or reject a special order; to make or buy a certain part, to sell or process further, or to keep or drop a certain product line or division. In these types of decisions, the decision maker must have knowledge of relevant costs and contribution margin.